


Scintillare

by RareAvian



Series: Hydra Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Female Harry Potter, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Master of Death Harry Potter, Multi, Triwizard Tournament, as usual, take nothing seriously, things are slightly off kilter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RareAvian/pseuds/RareAvian
Summary: When Hadria gets selected for the Triwizard Tournament, she attempts to keep this a secret from Gellert, because she really just wants to play around without a certain guardian going ballistic. Meanwhile the Slytherins are certain it's another year of Who's-Out-To-Kill-Hadria?(And Tom? Oh, he's just there to watch the show.)This is a sequel of Psithurism, featuring Hadria, paranoid Slytherins, a young Basilisk, and ultimately, a terrifying force of a Dark Lord guardian.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: Hydra Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/662591
Comments: 30
Kudos: 280





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> The Prompt by Hallowtide: A continuation of Hadria and the Princeling Basilisk from Greece, featuring a badass, possessive, and protective Grindelwald.
> 
> The Prompt by Dragon of Winter: Hadria getting into the Tournament and the reactions of everyone. And the Slytherins freaking out that she's being targeted again.
> 
> Setting: Psithurism AU, Fourth Year, Hadria is still in Slytherin (because she felt that she would be letting the Basilisk down by not choosing the House of Serpents), everything is the same as Danse Macabre, except that Hadria has a pet snake that is secretly a Basilisk instead of a Jarvey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh, this is a very late side-fic that I should have worked on long ago.
> 
> The facts are... Sometime in 2017, I offered Hallowtide, the 100th reviewer on AO3, to give me a prompt to write. And then in 2018, I offered Dragon of Winter, the 400th reviewer on ffnet, the same opportunity, as I have given to the previous x00th reviewers in the past.
> 
> And then, I got busy, and these prompts slipped my mind for a long time. And so here we are, a few years later.
> 
> Knowing that I would take ages to write two side-fics, I decided to combine them into one. And it's probably going to be about as long as Desenrascanço, but I've decided to split it into three chapters instead of the usual one-shot.

* * *

They were on the train back for another year of Hogwarts, when Draco proudly announced the news he recently heard: The Triwizard Tournament.

The four of them were sitting in the same compartment as they usually did, and Hadria had a sleeping magically-shrunken Vasiliás wrapped around her neck like a scarf, and her lap piled with chocolate. When asked why, she would say that it was a comfort food she needed because of the long-lasting aftereffects of the shock she received during the disastrous Quidditch World Cup.

None of them believed her of course, not when it was still firmly etched in all their minds the image of the Dark Mark's skull biting down, and the snake that had been bitten into half swearing loudly like a sailor as it fell through the sky, amongst other things.

( _"Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your family! Dishonour on your cow!"_ was still ringing in their heads after so long. If anyone suffered a shock from that incident, it definitely wasn't Hadria.)

"Triwizard Tournament? Isn't that the one that got banned long ago?" Pansy asked.

Blaise, who had also heard the news from his mother, said, "They've amended the rules. It's supposedly safer now. That's half the fun gone if you ask me."

Of course, to the Slytherins, the Tournament was either a challenge or a death wish. Few Slytherins had volunteered in the past, and that was unlikely to change. Instead, they preferred spectating. Sure, they might desire the glory and reputation winning the Tournament might bring them, but unless they were confident in their abilities, anyone with a lick of self-preservation would think twice about it. And those that entered the Tournament and got themselves hurt or killed? Well, wasn't it a consequence of a choice they made?

Draco sniffed. "Personally, I approve of their attempt at bringing back the Tournament with safety restrictions. After all, it means glory, fame and money, but with half the risk. Isn't that great?"

"As if you need the money," Pansy scoffed, but Blaise gave Draco a curious look.

"Are you thinking of entering?" He asked.

Now Draco looked appalled. "Of course not!" Then, in a rather pretentiously magnanimous manner, he added, "Better to leave it to someone else who needs it more."

They all turned to look at Hadria, who had been quietly watching them like they were a particularly entertaining performance.

"What? You don't mean me, do you?" She was baffled. "You do realise I need glory, fame and money even less than you lot."

Pansy shrugged. "Well, it would be nice if we could have a Slytherin champion. I heard there hasn't been one in the past twenty Tournaments. And if anyone could go up against a rampaging cockatrice and win, I'd bet on you."

"So would I!" said Draco, looking like he was ready to gamble all his family's white peacocks at any second.

Blaise patted her on the back. "We're counting on you, Hadria."

She suddenly didn't know whether she should thank them for their support or laugh about Fate and irony. Because if there was one thing she knew for sure, her name was definitely going to appear in that Goblet… Even if Crouch Junior doesn't put it in.

The Higher Entities were very meddlesome after all.

* * *

Right after the introduction of their new DADA teacher, Dumbledore announced the next big news, and a disappointing one. The Weasley twins, in particular, were rather furious, as they were turning seventeen soon.

"Seventeen huh," Draco sighed, looking at Hadria. They were now back in the Slytherin Common Room. The other Slytherins also looked… deflated. Like black and green slugs lying limply over the armchairs and tables.

"There goes our chance of having a Slytherin champion," Pansy groaned.

"Hey! Don't speak as if there ain't other Slytherins that can make it!" Adrian Pucey yelled as he and the other Sixth-year students walked past.

Pansy made a rude gesture back at them.

* * *

Mad-eye Moody was Mad. This was something everyone agreed on. Well, the Weasley twins thought he was brilliant, but they were probably the only ones. Neville had been traumatised during his first lesson, and Hermione came out of hers looking like a banshee.

When it was the Slytherins' turn, everyone started out fascinated—he was covering Unforgivables, after all—and ended up sore. Hadria, who was the only one who could throw off an Imperius without blinking, had a spectacular front-row seat to a variety of performances. Blaise was next to succeed, but he'd done a couple of incredible gymnastics by then.

"If you ever bottle this memory and give it to someone else, I will kill you and make it look like an accident," said Blaise with a sharp grin as he slid into the chair beside her. Hadria merely grinned back.

* * *

If there was one thing Hadria loved most about being a Slytherin that year, it was being able to host the Durmstrang students at their table. Hadria was eyeing one of the students in particular.

"Didn't know you were a fan of Krum," Pansy whispered to her as she observed Hadria's line of sight. Hadria raised an eyebrow, and smirked. Then, turning back to the approaching foreign students, she waved her arm, yelling, "Viktor! Tomas!"

The Slytherin table and the neighbouring table—the Ravenclaws—fell silent. The Durmstrang students began muttering amongst themselves even as the two students she had named strode towards them.

"Hadria," Viktor grinned as he sat down in the seat in front of her as a dumbstruck Pansy shifted to make space for him. "You look vell."

("Pinch me, Blaise," Pansy demanded in a harsh whisper. "Pinch me." This was followed by a muffled "ow.")

"I did tell you she would be fine," said Tomas, standing behind her, smiling politely at Draco until the boy made way for him with wide eyes. She could almost see the gears in his head turning, trying to put together who this student with a terrifying smile might be.

Hadria quickly pulled Tom down into the now-empty seat, heedless of whatever play he was trying to perform. She knew if she let him continue, he'd start trying to establish himself as the new leader of the group, regardless of the fact that he was from a different school altogether.

"Are you an idiot? Dumbledore's watching," said Hadria, somewhat exasperated. Tom simply continued to smile a cold serpent smile.

"Let him watch," he said, and glanced at the staff table. Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes were indeed focused on their table. He turned back, eyes narrowing with barely hidden pleasure. "Let him watch all he likes."

* * *

Later, Hadria had to explain to her friends that no, she did not actually know Viktor that well—it was Tom who was actually 'friends' with him—but they _were_ pen pals.

"You didn't tell us you knew anyone from Durmstrang," Draco said accusingly.

Hadria huffed. "Well, Gerwald's from Durmstrang."

Her friends stared back at her. Finally, Pansy said, "Well, I can't say I'm surprised." And Blaise agreed.

"So, how did you know Rätsel?" said Theodore, settling down into a nearby armchair while smoothly inserting himself into the conversation.

"I want to know the answer to that too," said Daphne, joining in. "He looks delicious."

Hadria decided not to comment on _that_.

"I met him in second year—"

" _Second year?!_ "

Pansy shushed him, "Don't interrupt, Draco."

"I met him in second year," Hadria repeated, ignoring Draco's look of betrayal. "We just happened to be in the same place at the same time, and then hit it off." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "You could say that we were Fated." Which was literally true.

"At least we're the first to know of this not-so-new development," said Pansy as an attempt to console Draco. Which Hadria promptly ruined by saying:

"Actually, the Weasleys have already met him."

* * *

Viktor was chosen as the Durmstrang champion, to no one's surprise. Fleur was Beauxbatons', and Cedric was Hogwarts'.

"Better a Hufflepuff than a Gryffindor, I suppose," said Draco sullenly.

Then the flames of the Goblet turned crimson once more, and spat out another piece of parchment. Dumbledore caught the parchment and looked at it. For a while, he remained silent, expression unreadable. Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to say something.

Tom was the only one still watching Hadria, who smiled serenely back at him.

Then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and his gaze turned towards the two of them.

"Hadria Potter."

Now, everyone's gazes were on her. Draco didn't look as elated as she thought he'd look. Neither did Pansy or Blaise. In fact, most of the Slytherins looked horrified.

Hadria stood up, still smiling serenely (later, Hermione would tell her that her expression resembled that of a wise sage at the end of his journey, moments before transforming into a thousand cherry blossom petals or something), and walked up to the staff table at an almost leisurely pace, then with a prompting by Dumbledore, entered the door to the side.

* * *

Back in the Slytherin Common Room, it seemed like nearly the whole House was there waiting. The entire common room was decorated in black, silver, green and white. Hadria thought it didn't look particularly celebratory. In fact, the atmosphere was the exact opposite of what she remembered from her previous life, back when she was in Gryffindor.

The Gryffindors, she recalled, had been full of cheer and excitement, with the exception of Ron. These Slytherins… Hadria took in the banners and flowers, then the Slytherins who were all wearing serious faces.

"Is this a funeral?" Hadria finally asked the nearest Slytherin, who happened to be Montague.

"It is what it is," he said with a shrug.

"We're not giving up, of course," said Draco. It was then that she noticed that the tables were covered in pieces of parchments entirely filled with scribbles and diagrams.

"But it didn't seem right to not do something commemorative of this momentous occasion," added Pansy.

"But we also felt that something festive and celebratory would be inappropriate," said Adrian.

"So, you decided on funeral arrangements," Hadria concluded for them dryly. "Do I have a casket prepared for me somewhere then?"

"We've ordered one," said Blaise. It seemed like he was the only one still grinning. "But don't worry, we'll make sure you won't need one."

Hadria did not know if she should feel blessed or cursed.

* * *

Later, Hadria rallied the help of all her Housemates in making sure that Gellert never catches wind of this.

Oh, Gellert knew Hogwarts was hosting the Triwizard Tournament, but he also knew that there would be magical age restrictions. And, considering how the old Gellert was stuck in Nurmengard at the time, there was no way he would be aware of her participation in her past life. And she was determined not to let him know of her present participation until it was all over. She didn't want to think about what hell he might raise if he were to find out.

However, it was going to be tough. She would have to not only stop letters regarding her participation from reaching him, she would also have to prevent him from finding out through the news.

On the bright side, he was due to a trip to a remote part of Tibet, and no matter how smart or capable Wizarding-bred birds were, it was still possible for one to be unreachable by mail if it was somewhere the birds couldn't find or had a hard time reaching. Thus, many companies that had delivery services (including the Daily Prophet and other news companies), had, in fact, a wide range of places they delivered to, but also a wide range of places they did not deliver to.

This meant that Hadria would just need to keep from appearing in the news for a few more days. Still, it was easier said than done.

* * *

Potions with Snape was… unpleasant. The Professor was understandably still rather cross at her ability to get into trouble, never mind the fact that it was unintentional. This time, at least. Draco assured her he was just concerned.

"It's good he's upset," Pansy added. "It means it's less likely to be him."

What she meant, of course, was the person who put in her name for her. It came to no surprise that there were many Slytherins who once again suspected Dumbledore of the crime.

* * *

Hadria did not let Rita Skeeter interview her. The last thing she needed was a front-page article about her when Gellert was still within Owl-reach.

In fact, after the wand-weighing by Ollivander, she cornered Rita Skeeter when no one was around, and blackmailed her into leaving out any mention of her for now.

"I'm not really a Champion anyway, no matter what they say," said Hadria, after she got Skeeter's agreement. "You can write about me after the first task. It should be pretty explosive then. Dark horse, you know."

After that, she made a gesture mimicking an insect's antennae for good measure.

* * *

Hadria's picture did end up in the Daily Prophet, but it was a tiny thing in the corner without any accompanying words or explanation. As she did not receive any news from Gellert after that, it must have been obscure enough to escape his notice.

Sirius did contact her, however, for he was rather peeved that he had to find out about her participation through Narcissa instead of herself. Apparently, Hadria had forgotten to write back to both Gellert and Sirius aside from the first letter after the school year started, as she had been far more concerned about ensuring that Gellert doesn't hear about this whole thing.

Fortunately, Sirius too had enough sense not to leak it to Gellert when he found out.

* * *

Hagrid brought her out to see the dragons one night. Her friends sighed in relief when they heard about it from her later on.

"Thank goodness it's just a dragon," said Neville. "It would be terrible if they brought out a hydra."

"Longbottom, have you forgotten what her Patronus is?" Draco scoffed.

"A Patronus does not actually have any relation to a witch or wizard's affinity—"

"Yes, yes, we know, Granger," said Draco dismissively. "No need for a lecture."

Hermione crossed her arms and gave him a flat unimpressed stare which had him quailing almost immediately. It was apparently something she had picked up from Gellert, who Hadria suspected had become her idol.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Blaise, interrupting them. "Let's not talk about her Patronus. Let us talk about that 'scarf' of hers."

All of them stared at Vasiliás, for she wore him whenever they didn't have lessons. He could often pass off as a well-designed snake-skin scarf anyway. Though her friends all knew that he was, in fact, a Basilisk.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know why I was even worried," said Pansy, eyeing the snake.

"That's because it's not the Tasks themselves that could harm Hadria."

They turned to see Ginny dropping her book bag beside them. She had arrived with the Twins, but they had been stopped at the entrance by Madam Pince who looked like she was tempted to make them sign a written agreement to behave in the library.

"It's someone harming her and making it look like it was a Task-related accident."

Now, Hadria raised an eyebrow at Blaise, who, to his credit, looked as sheepish as someone like him could get.

* * *

On the day of the First Task, Hadria was armed with all the magical knowledge her friends could cram into her within the short duration of the past few days. Most of which had nothing to do with dragons. But they felt that the better prepared she was, the higher the chances of her getting out of there alive.

"Worse comes to worse, we'll just throw Vasiliás into the enclosure and let him take care of things," said Ginny, carrying the mini Basilisk in her arms.

Hadria looked at Tom, who was standing some distance behind her with a few other Durmstrang students, and for a moment, couldn't help but wonder at how different things were, this time around.

* * *

The First Task was easier in this life, although she had gotten the Hungarian Horntail again, because some things never changed. However, this time she did not summon her broom.

Hadria walked right up to the dragon and sat in front of her. The Horntail stared at her suspiciously for a moment, lowered her head to sniff at her, then opened her mouth.

The screaming crowd had fallen silent.

And the dragon gently picked her up, turned, and placed her back down amongst her eggs.

The screaming was back.

The Horntail then continued to survey its surroundings warily, looking out for any potential threats to her and her clutch of eggs.

Meanwhile, Hadria had grabbed the golden egg, and then realised if she walked out right now, the massive dragon was only going to pick her up again and return her to the nest, where she thinks she belongs.

She could almost hear her friends hissing in her ear, _"This is your plan?"_

Hadria mentally reviewed what she knew about dragons, and suddenly realised that she had to leave, fast. Before the Horntail decided her eggs weren't warm enough and breathed fire on them.

 _Eggs,_ Hadria thought, inspiration striking. _Eggs!_

Half a minute later, a confused Horntail looked around with heightened wariness, crossed the enclosure in a single flight-aided leap, and crouched back over her clutch of eggs. Then Hadria ran for the exit, the golden egg in her arms.

Just as she stepped out of the enclosure, the spells wore off. She was now detectable, by sight, smell, and sound, and so were the dragon eggs. Meanwhile, the other clutch of seemingly warm 'eggs' transformed back into lifeless rocks. The dragon, upon realising she had been tricked, began to spew fire everywhere in her fury.

But the Task was over, the crowds were cheering, and Hadria had nary a burn or cut on her.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Hermione yelled as she burst into the tent where Hadria was receiving a check-up from Madam Pomfrey. Neville was close behind her, followed by the Slytherins. It was probably wise that Ginny did not follow, as she was still in possession of Vasiliás, and Hadria was certain Madam Pomfrey would not like the presence of any venomous creature of any rating in the tent.

"How did you do that?" Neville asked. "Cedric also tried to trick the dragon, but he used a dog to distract it instead. Worked pretty well until the dragon decided to go for him instead of the dog."

"It must have been complicated. It's not easy to mimic real dragon eggs," said Hermione. "You've got to get the right temperature, magical pulse, scent and everything. Dragon eggs are also not easy to spell. What did you use?"

"I couldn't turn the eggs themselves invisible," Hadria admitted. "But I could charm that stretch of area to be Undetectable and Repellent. It's a similar concept to Masking and Unplottability."

"It's good that you're alive," said Draco when he entered, ignoring Hermione's praise and reverence for Hadria's display of magical prowess. "Come on, it's almost time for the results to be given."

* * *

Madame Maxime was the first to give her score—a beautiful nine.

"She probably just couldn't bear to give you a full ten," said Pansy.

Mr Crouch then gave her a ten, and she received many claps on the back from her friends and cheering from the crowd.

Dumbledore went next, and like Madame Maxime, he gave her a nine.

"Hey! Madame Maxime can be excused, she's from an opposing school after all, but Dumbledore?" Hermione was indignant. Draco scoffed in response.

"He probably took one point off for her House."

Hermione was now far more offended on Hadria's behalf. "That's ridiculous! That's—"

Ludo Bagman gave her a ten, to no one's surprise, then Karkaroff went up and gave her a ten as well.

"Now isn't that interesting?" Blaise grinned mockingly. "Dumbledore gave a nine, and Karkaroff gives a ten."

But Hadria knew Karkaroff wouldn't have given her anything close to that number if he had his way. Except he didn't really have his way now, did he? Not with Tom as his 'student'.

* * *

Hadria naturally got the lead, and generously gave Rita Skeeter a good article to write. With some necessary restrictions of course, lest the woman claim that she had burst into tears of happiness or some nonsense like that.

She did turn out pretty well in the news, which was good. If Hadria had been turned into some protagonist in an angsty drama, she would have personally delivered those blasted Skrewts to the woman.

Hadria loved magical creatures, but she really couldn't summon any goodwill towards those abominations that Hagrid had raised.

* * *

**Some notes for clarification**

* * *

**About Tomas Rätsel's name:**

_Tomas is a less common name (at least in English), and thus more appealing I would think, for an English wizard disdainful of his very common birth name. Rätsel is a German word meaning riddle/puzzle/mystery. Both names were suggested by Gellert. And as you can see, it's actually very telling. There is no way Dumbledore can look at this TMR-looking wizard with this TMR-related name and not go *I've got my eyes on you gesture*_

**About the events in Second Year's Chamber of Secrets:**

_Because I don't want to write a whole other side-fic here, this is just a very vague summary of what probably happened in this Psithurism AU. Basically, Hadria brings a disguised Vasiliás around with her in school, so everyone knows she's got a pet snake. Dumbledore is naturally more squinty-eyed at her. No one is surprised she's a Parselmouth even though the first time she publicly reveals it is in second year._

_Ginny is never possessed by TMR. The Chamber is opened by Hadria because Ginny gave her the 'super-cool diary' with the idea of joining her 'gang'. She befriends the old Basilisk down there, and Vasiliás gains a new space to roam undisguised. They somehow gain TMR a body and Gellert basically wants to pull his hair out when she brings home a reincarnated Dark Lord clone. Then they construct a new identity for him and ship him off to Durmstrang where he basically pulls Karkaroff into becoming_ his _follower and becomes a student there._

_The time the Weasleys met him? It was before third year, when the Weasleys got that lucky draw holiday to Egypt and the little Hallowed family were also there because of Gellert's magical research._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Part Two has already been written, but will be posted next week. Meanwhile I shall work hard on Part Three so that I can get it out in two week's time.
> 
> Feel free to comment or ask me any questions! I can be found here, on ffnet (RarissimaAvis) and on tumblr (nevertickleasleepinghydra)!
> 
> There is also a poll on my profile page about accepting short prompts when I'm free in between Danse Macabre chapters, so check it out! (When I say short, I mean my response to the prompt will be very short. I won't have the time to write so much for each prompt anymore...)


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Yule Ball and the Second Task

As the Yule Ball approached, everyone began hunting for partners. Hadria had planned on going with Tom right from the start mainly for the inside joke that only she would understand, that is, Tom dancing with a representative of Death. It was also quickly decided amongst their group that Draco would go with Pansy, while Blaise declared he was going to attempt courting the spitfire Weasley. She also heard that Neville had invited Luna with ease, so only Hermione was left without a partner.

"How about one of the twins?" Hadria suggested. Hermione made a face.

"No way! Besides, I overheard them discussing who was going to try inviting Cedric."

Hadria blinked. "Cedric? As in, Cedric Diggory?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Which other Cedric do we know? I heard from Ginny that there's been intention for some sort of a collaboration between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor since your House keeps on winning."

"Ah," said Hadria. It sounded like something out of a historical drama—the children of two noble families getting together during a ball and dancing their way towards an alliance.

* * *

Then one evening, shortly after dinner, Hadria witnessed Draco suddenly ask Fleur to be his Yule Ball partner, complete with a graceful bow, looking like he'd been possessed.

Everyone in the hallway was staring, but Fleur merely laughed and agreed. Hadria wanted to ask, _what about Roger Davies?_ But she supposed Draco had beaten him to it. And they did make a good match, if one got past the fact that the both of them were proud individuals who were secretly sort of adorable… to those they were close to.

Then they had to find a match for Pansy.

"No thanks," said Pansy, when they brought it up, making sure to give a somewhat chagrined Draco a scornful look. "Since _someone_ couldn't resist a part-Veela's charms, I shall very happily attend the ball by myself."

Hadria didn't really care if Pansy went alone, since it _was_ her choice, and she wasn't a Triwizard Champion, so she didn't actually need a partner. But…

"I have someone who might like to attend the ball with you. Well, with anyone he knows, actually."

Pansy raised an eyebrow at Hadria. "And pray tell who this lad might be?"

* * *

On the day of the ball, Hermione showed up with Viktor, which, in Hadria's opinion, was probably the least surprising thing that happened with regards to this whole Yule Ball event. The both of them looked very good together, though Viktor seemed a little awkward, but that was understandable, considering how stunningly radiant Hermione was that night.

Fred was the one who turned up arm-in-arm with Cedric, and they were greeted with a lot of cheering and hooting from everyone else. And Fleur entered with Draco, the both of them decked in silvery grey robes that matched their pale blonde hair like Winter fey.

Once Hadria spotted Tom, who was dressed all in black, she soon found Blaise and Ginny, who were also quite a pair. Blaise wore dark forest green robes, while Ginny was in a dress that had most likely been gifted by Blaise himself. It was crimson layered with amber, gold and all the other shades of fire.

"He can't be serious," Tom muttered, staring through the crowd. But Hadria didn't need to strain her eyes to find out what he was looking at, for the crowd soon fell into stunned silence and parted to make way for George, who had turned up with Moaning Myrtle.

Hadria turned back to stare at Tom's face. Although he had made some minor changes to his appearance, he was still very recognisable as Tom Riddle to those who knew him. Evidence Number One: Dumbledore.

"Should you wear a mask?" She wondered.

Tom stared back at her. "And… Why would I?"

"Because Myrtle is going to start wailing once she sees you," said Hadria.

* * *

Myrtle did almost start wailing the moment she saw Tom. But Hadria, whom Myrtle had some trust (for unknown reasons) in, had quickly introduced her partner as Tomas Rätsel, a Durmstrang seventh-year student. So, Myrtle reluctantly accepted his presence with some suspicion.

Then it was time for the Champions to lead in the dance, and the ghost had to focus more on trying to dance with someone whose hands could pass through her body than a student who looked like a young Dark Lord.

Said young Dark Lord also became preoccupied—with ensuring that his feet didn't get stepped on by Hadria, who was doing more of the steering than he was, and whose dancing resembled that of a young goat prancing. He was certain she knew how to dance, Gellert would have made sure of that, but of course she would choose not to dance the conventional way.

* * *

Pansy turned up late, which was also probably very fortunate for Myrtle, who had left early as she couldn't enjoy the food anyway. And George went and joined Fred, so Cedric became sandwiched between the twins.

"What happened?" Blaise asked, after the meal was over and it was time for another dancing session.

Pansy looked in Ginny's direction, for the red head was flattening what little cheeks the Basilisk had with her hands.

"The little bas—Basilisk overslept, and I thought, since we were going to be late, he might as well be dressed properly too, but we had an argument over the colour of his bowtie, which was absurd, really, because I couldn't understand a word he said."

Hadria saw that the result was a very fancy looping red bow around Vasiliás' neck, decorated with a red spider lily.

"Ugh, _red_ ," said Pansy, evidently not pleased with the result.

"Well, it would have gone well with his crest," Draco admitted, scrutinizing the decorated crest-less Basilisk.

"What crest?" said Fleur, joining them. "And why do you 'ave a snake?"

* * *

Sometime after the Yule Ball, Hadria opened the egg once, just to check if the contents were the same as before. It was.

"What's it about?" Theodore asked, when she told the Slytherins she had figured out the clue.

"Merfolk," said Hadria. "The next task's going to be in the Lake, and we've got to retrieve something dear to us from the merfolk."

"Well," said Blaise. "That explains why I saw Krum diving into the freezing Lake the other day,"

"Wait, you're expected to go into the Lake in February?" Pansy demanded.

"Wands are allowed, so she could presumably cast a Warming Charm."

"… Doesn't that work with hot air? Can it be used underwater?"

"Couldn't she cast it before she goes underwater? … Actually, can spells even be cast underwater?"

"Then, what if the merfolk decides to attack her?"

"What about the Grindylows, and the Giant Squid, while we're at it?"

This one was dismissed with a, "Potter could just befriend them, can't she?"

"Then why would the merfolk attack her?"

"Easy. Imperius."

"Can the Squid be Imperiused?"

Hadria turned to look at Blaise who was scribbling thoughtfully, paying no attention to the discussion in the common room. "Are we the only ones who find this absurd?"

Blaise laughed, "No, you're the only one who finds it absurd. Here." He handed her the parchment he had been writing on.

Hadria looked at it, then stared. It was a list of weapons, from dagger to poleaxe, and basic usage instructions.

"You can conjure them before entering the Lake, or in the Lake too, if you figure out how to cast spells underwater."

Hadria was now staring at him. "Blaise, I'll be _underwater_. These are instructions for someone on _land_."

He merely shrugged. "I only know how to use them on land. But we could get you some practice. Send you on an excursion into the Lake, see if you can catch some fish or something."

 _This is a list filled with good intentions,_ Hadria told herself, then she left to find someone saner, like Luna.

* * *

Later, Hadria spent most of her time wondering who she would find at the bottom of the Lake. Her school friends might not realise what the Task involved, but she knew what it meant, and they were the only viable options. After all, she highly doubted she'd find Sirius in there, or Merlin forbid, _Gellert_. And she was certain Karkaroff would never dare to do anything to the young Dark Lord of his school—not that he could do anything if he tried anyway.

So, one of these poor souls working together to solve the mystery of Who Wants Hadria Dead This Year was going to add up unconscious at the bottom of a cold Lake.

And then she wondered who Cedric would find down there. Last time, it had been Cho. But this time, it probably wasn't Fred, since they weren't that close anyway… as far as she was aware, that is.

* * *

To assure her overly concerned friends, Hadria compromised and ditched her original plan of Transfiguring her lower body into a shark, even though it would have been such a great parallel with Viktor. ("It's too dangerous," said Hermione, of all people, not knowing what her new boyfriend was going to do.)

Instead, she would summon Vasiliás to her, restore him to his normal size, and use him as her ride.

Draco wanted her to just get Vasiliás to do everything for her, neglecting the fact that even if the Basilisk was willing to do everything himself, he was still a large snake with venomous fangs and no limbs at all. Which meant that he had nothing he could use to safely retrieve whatever object (or person) was down there.

If she really wanted to go down that route, she might as well just use Noh. He could probably swallow all four 'victims' and spit them out afterwards. But that would probably traumatise too many people, especially the 'victims' if they were unfortunate enough to wake up while still in his storage stomach.

* * *

The day of the Second Task was bitterly cold. Hadria was ever thankful for the dragonhide outfit specially charmed to preserve heat. Gellert had gotten it for her during one of their trips far up North, she usually wore it as some sort of thermal innerwear, but it was now proving to be a very useful swimsuit.

When the Task began, Hadria used a Bubblehead Charm and quickly dove into the dark waters of the Lake. Once she felt she had gone far enough, she used the serpent-summoning charm that had been modified specially for summoning her Basilisk, and was very glad she had expanded her collection of spells she could cast non-verbally over the past few years.

With a flash of light, a sleepy dark-green snake appeared before her. She removed the charms she had layered upon Vasiliás and returned him to his magnificent red-plumed giant anaconda-sized glory.

 **(Whisperer Hydra, it is [][][][][][][][] cold,)** said the Basilisk with much displeasure, and then she remembered that unlike a dragon, a Basilisk was a non-heat-producing reptile.

 **(What was that?)** She asked as she waved her wand to heat up the water around them.

 **(Nothing,)** muttered Vasiliás. **(Now can we make this quick?)**

Vasiliás, it seemed, had picked up some foreign words during their travels. Hadria was certain they were curse words, but she couldn't tell what dialect they were, nor was the Basilisk willing to tell her about all the other friends he seemed to have made in secret.

"Rebellious teenage years," was how Gellert described it.

* * *

Vasiliás wasn't quite big enough for an adult man to ride him comfortably on land, but not only was Hadria a small-built still-growing girl, they also had the handy help of buoyancy in water. In fact, she did less riding and more clinging, using a spell to stick her hands to his scales because her arms weren't long enough to wrap around his neck, and at the speed he was going, she'd be left behind in a torrent of bubbles if she was careless.

They sped past many merfolk that looked like they wanted to protest but didn't have the guts to. Even though Vasiliás' eyes were a filtered green, he was still unmistakable as a Basilisk, especially with his size and the large water-swept scarlet plume on his head.

Then the two of them then nearly crashed into the statue that the hostages were tied to, mainly because Vasiliás had been moving too fast, and was also a bit short-sighted when his eyes are filtered.

There were four hostages, as was expected. Hermione was there, and so was Gabrielle, but so were Draco and Ginny.

* * *

Hadria was extra careful when using the Severing Charm on the weeds binding Draco—she didn't want to have to explain to Narcissa why her precious son was bleeding. In fact, she wondered how Draco could become a hostage. She couldn't imagine Draco standing in McGonagall's office agreeing to be put into a bewitched sleep by someone he viewed to be an Enemy. Unless Snape convinced him?

She did hope they wouldn't be stupid enough to cast the spell on Draco without his consent because there were many alternatives (like using any other non-anti-Dumbledore friend of hers) than basically risking the wrath of the Malfoys. Lucius could be dangerous, but he was still manageable. For all the trouble he had tried to cause in her past life, he wasn't usually successful. A protective Narcissa, on the other hand, was a force to behold.

* * *

Hadria watched as Viktor and Cedric came and went. Cedric arrived first, with a knife ready, and freed his Seeker, gave her a thumbs up and a grin before swimming off, leaving to Hadria to wonder if there was something else going on with Cedric and the Weasleys that she somehow was not informed of.

Then Viktor came along with his enormous shark head. After he finished cutting Hermione's weed-ropes with a sharp rock, he expressed using hand signs his still-present disappointment of her lack of a shark's tail, before bringing Hermione away.

When Hadria was certain Fleur wasn't going to make it again, she quickly freed Gabrielle and hauled both fair-headed children onto Vasiliás and they quickly sped back the way they came.

Of course, she knew that Gabrielle would come to no harm now. But she recalled that "showing moral fibre" had earned her extra points in the past, with the added benefit of strengthening a friendship with Fleur. And besides, she had Vasiliás now.

* * *

Hadria broke through the surface of the water with Gabrielle and Draco. Gabrielle had wide eyes that made her look beautiful even though she seemed very alarmed and confused (it was probably a Veela thing), while Draco… well.

"I'm never doing this again," he declared first thing when he woke up. He blinked water out of his eyes and tried to shake his wet hair from his face. "I bet I look terrible."

He did. He looked like drenched… ferret. Although to his (and a ferret's) credit, it was somewhat cute, in that silly animal way. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

Hadria noted that unlike Ron in her previous life, Draco did not comment on the fact that she had brought Gabrielle along. He did raise an eyebrow that looked less elegant when his hair was dripping wet and plastered all over, and Hadria ignored it.

They swam back to the bank, helping Gabrielle because she didn't seem to know how to swim. The judges were there waiting, along with several merfolk that looked very wary of her even though Vasiliás was no longer around. (He had swum off by himself, probably using some route through the pipes back into the school).

The only Champion there was Fleur, who was wrapped up in a thick blanket and near hysterical as she spoke to Madame Maxime. Then she spotted them climbing out of the water ("Hands off!" said Draco, when Ludo Bagman tried to help him out) and hurried over shouting her sister's name.

Then they were all seized by Madam Pomfrey who bundled them into thick blankets of their own, which were very warm and fluffy, but wrapped so tightly that—

"I will emerge from this as a butterfly," said Draco after his dose of Pepper-Up Potion. Hadria stared at him.

"Has the water addled your brains?" she asked him. He merely blinked back at her, his blonde hair and grey eyes the only thing she could see peeking out from the blanket cocoon he had become.

* * *

Cedric and Ginny were next to return, followed by Viktor and Hermione. Neither pair seemed very surprised by her earlier arrival despite having left the merfolk's hostage statue before her.

Naturally, Hadria took the lead, and was the only one who had made it back before the time limit, barring Fleur who hadn't manage to retrieve her sister.

She had been very grateful to Hadria and Draco, and Draco's face was still flushed a very noticeable pink for she'd expressed her gratitude in the form of cheek-kisses.

"Where did you get that giant snake from anyway?" Cedric asked Hadria afterwards, when they were on their way back to the castle for dry clothes. "I didn't know we had a water serpent in our Lake."

"Ve have one. In our fjord," said Viktor from behind them. "I've been reliably informed that it's very… vulgar."

"We don't have a water serpent," said Hermione dryly. "But Hadria's got… a snake."

"Oh, that one," said Cedric but he still looked confused. "Did you cast an Engorgement Charm on it?"

"Something like that," said Hadria with a grin, while the other Hogwarts students in the group (and Viktor) looked pointedly away.

"Then," said Fleur, who was also nearby. "I must thank your snake as well. Where is 'e?"

"I sent him back to the castle ahead of us. He doesn't like the cold much," Hadria explained, then reassured her. "You'll get to see him later."

She thought she ought to get it on camera if Fleur did indeed kiss Vasiliás as well. It would be a worthy addition to their _Hogwarts: A Discovery_.

* * *

After the Task, Rita Skeeter once again wrote another article, which was later removed from later prints of the magazine it had been featured in. But there were many students who had seen it and still had cut-outs of it. A picture of it was also included in the school's monthly publication.

"We didn't have it taken out only for you to immortalise it," said Draco, staring at their magazine with thinly veiled disdain.

"You look good in it," said Pansy, as if the well-shot photograph of him was any consolation.

QUIDDITCH: THE SPORT OF LOVE? was the loud title of the article. Not only was Draco's photograph in the article, but basically all four Champions were in it, as well as Ginny, the Weasley twins, and Hermione. Tom was conspicuously missing from the collection because there was even a photograph of Moaning Myrtle in there—Hadria didn't even know ghosts could appear in Wizarding photographs before this.

It read like a cross between a trashy teenage drama-filled romance novel and a short thesis on the social influence of sports.

"According to the article, we're having a _threesome_ ," Draco hissed, holding the magazine by a corner, and shaking it as if he could shake the article out like that.

"It doesn't say that," said Hermione primly. "It says—"

"I know what it says, Granger. I'm talking about what it's _implying_!"

"You mean what you think it says if you squint hard enough," said Blaise, grinning like a fox. Draco gave him a withering look.

Blaise shrugged. "I don't know why you're so upset. Your 'threesome' isn't even the focus. I don't know how many girls I've seen giggling about ' _Fredric'_ and it's been months since Yule."

"That's not the point," said Draco, all high-pitched now.

Pansy exchanged glances with Blaise who was still grinning, and Hadria who was also grinning, and sighed, choosing to humour him. "Then what is the point?"

Draco stared at her and deflated. He collapsed onto the grass, no longer caring about whether he was getting dirt on his clothes or hair.

"The point is that I'm going to be killed."

Hadria blinked. "I thought I was the one being targeted."

Draco waved a careless hand in her direction. "Oh, no, you're going to be killed by the mystery person who is probably the Headmaster. I'm going to be killed by your Gerwald. Or Rätsel."

 _Ah_ , thought Hadria with much glee. _Welcome to my world of being targeted by Dark Lords._

And then she was reminded of her sixth year at Hogwarts in her previous life. Well, she figured it was still better to be targeted by Tom than Voldemort. At least Tom could be reigned in. Somewhat.

* * *

**Some notes for clarification**

* * *

**About the merfolk:  
**

_I call them merfolk, as that's how they've often been referred as. However, I was recently made aware that according to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the textbook), the merfolk in Hogwarts' part of the world are called selkie. They are nothing like selkies. At all. So I am taking the liberty of ignoring that bit, and will continue addressing them as merfolk._

_If I ever bring up 'selkies' in Danse Macabre or any other fic in this series, I will be referring to mystical beings that can switch between seal and human forms with a sealskin coat._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all for now~
> 
> Part Three is still a work in progress, but will hopefully be up by next week.
> 
> Feel free to comment or ask me any questions! I can be found here, on ffnet (RarissimaAvis) and on tumblr (nevertickleasleepinghydra)!
> 
> There is also a poll on my profile page about accepting short prompts when I'm free in between Danse Macabre chapters (i.e. when I have time but have writer's block), so check it out! (Also, when I say short, I mean my response to the prompt will be very short. I won't have the time to write so much for each prompt anymore...)


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